Jean Philippe Goujon de Grondel was born 27 November 1714 in Saverne, the son of Jean de Goujon, a captain in the Alsace cavalry.
New Orleans In 1731 Grondel was sent as a young officer to
Louisiana, where he distinguished himself in the wars against the
Chickasaws and was wounded in the
battle of Ackia in 1736. After his marriage in 1741, he was employed in various military expeditions and diplomatic negotiations with
Native American peoples, until 1750 when he became a captain of the Swiss grenadiers of Louisiana, and was awarded the
Cross of St. Louis for his services in 1753. In 1758, he settled as a planter in
New Orleans where he managed a plantation and 150 slaves. After a perilous return to France, Grondel was put under the protection by associates. On 9 April 1765 Grondel was put under arrest, and sent to the
Bastille. He was released after a few days.
Return to command Judgment in his trial was finally rendered in 1769, in his favor. Soon after, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel. Louisiana having been ceded to
Spain, Grondel was appointed in 1772 to the command of the naval base at
Lorient, and rose to the rank of brigadier-general in 1788. On 9 March 1788, when he was appointed field marshal, he retired from the military with a pension. Almost immediately upon his release he was elected by the inhabitants of
Nemours as commanding general of the
National Guards of their city, serving until the following year. Grondel commanded the National Guard of Nemours from 1792 to 1793.
Later years and death In 1796, he moved to Salins, near
Montereau-Fault-Yonne, and died in 1807 at the age of 93. == References ==